The present invention relates to an improved mouth-to-mouth barrier for facilitating mouth-to-mouth resuscitation of a victim who has stopped breathing and for protecting a rescuer engaged in such mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Recent widespread dissemination of information and training courses for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by the International Red Cross and other organizations has done much to promote the widespread use of this vital life saving technique. CPR, of course, is a technique which combines chest massage with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in an attempt to revive a victim's interrupted heartbeat and breathing.
Unfortunately, persons conducting CPR are likely to catch communicable diseases from the victim and with the increased number of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) victims which may have blood or other infected body fluids in their mouths, CPR trained individuals and even professional medical practitioners have become reluctant to use mouth-to-mouth resuscitation techniques. This is especially due to the widespread fear, whether justified or not, that the AIDS virus can be transmitted through mouth-to-mouth contact. Nevertheless, when blood is present, there is little doubt that contamination can occur. In addition to the fear of contracting AIDS or other communicable diseases, ordinary personal hygiene considerations often delay or prevent timely mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Numerous devices have been designed in an effort to overcome these problems.
One approach has been to use an air permeable cloth or mesh which is placed over the victim's mouth prior to giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. These devices have tended to impede the flow of air from the rescuer to the victim and limit the effectiveness of resuscitation efforts.
Another approach has been to use an elongated hollow tube which is open at both ends. One end is placed in the victim's mouth while the rescuer places his mouth over the other open end and exhales through the tube to force air into the victim's lungs. While generally an improvement over an air permeable cloth, this approach does not prevent saliva or other liquids or solids from being passed from the victim through the tube to the rescuer.
The effectiveness of these elongated tubes has been enhanced by placing a protective shield around the tubes and by putting one-way check valves inside the tubes. The combination of an extended shield and a one-way valve has greatly reduced the chances of exposure to communicable diseases by a potential rescuer. By making these protective shield and valve equipped tube devices disposable, personal hygiene concerns have also been largely mitigated. Several problems with this basic arrangement remain, however. The hollow tubes have tended to be too flexible, and are thus subject to being closed off if a victim bites down on the tube. The tube's effectiveness can also be compromised if a victim's tongue or any other solid object enters the open end of the tube and blocks the airflow. Furthermore, check valves have generally consisted of flexible flaps which are attached at one end to a portion of the elongate tube, which flaps have tended to be relatively slow in closing. The lack of readily available instructions on the proper use of these devices has also been a drawback.
One attempt to address these problems is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,809 of Howard Gerson, which issued Jun. 9, 1992 and which is entitled MOUTH-TO-MOUTH WITH VALVE AND BARRIER ("the '809 patent"). The '809 patent teaches a mouth-to-mouth barrier with a transparent shield and a breathing tube extending through an opening in the shield. A light weight air impermeable plate valve is positioned within the breathing tube and is free to move between a lower position which permits air to flow from the rescuer around the plate and through the breathing tube and an upper position which blocks airflow from the victim back towards the rescuer. The breathing tube has a plurality of longitudinally extending strengthening ribs and an integrally molded grid on the bottom thereof to strengthen and rigidize the structure.
While the barrier described in the '809 patent performs generally satisfactorily, a number of problems remain. Assembly of the barrier is difficult since the movable plate valve must be inserted within the breathing tube and the shield must be simultaneously seated on a flange surrounding the breathing tube before the mouthpiece is attached in place. Precise positioning of the plate valve is essential for proper operation, yet no guides or channels are provided to facilitate correct valve placement. Furthermore, the movable valve in the barrier is positioned immediately adjacent the rescuer's mouth. Thus, virtually the entire breathing tube can be filled with contaminated saliva from the victim should the victim suddenly exhale or cough and any momentary failure of the valve would immediately expose the rescuer to the victim's potentially contaminated saliva and or blood.
It is clear then, that a need exists for a reliable, one-way valve and shield equipped mouth-to-mouth resuscitation barrier which avoids the above cited drawbacks. Such a device should be simple and inexpensive to produce and easy to assemble, and, preferably, should place the valve at a maximum distance away from the rescuer's mouth.